Linux is outselling Windows 98, says Microsoft

It's apparently 'Microsoft boosts Linux' day today...

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MS on Trial Desperate stuff? Yesterday Microsoft produced one of its own internal emails as evidence -- if it's to be believed, Linux is outselling Windows 98 in key retail channels. The email, sent to MS executives on 25 May, could possibly be just a big fiddle. The judge accepted it as evidence, but commented that it was self-serving. Microsoft is currently absolutely desperate to prove that it really has competition, or it will really have competition real soon now, so yes, it is self-serving. But even if it is a put-up job, there's possibly a grain of truth to it. "Recently in CompUSA, Microcenter and Fry's, Linux is outselling Windows 98," the email claims. It also notes that one of the problems might be that the retailers are making more profit on Linux than on Windows 98, and that's the bit that makes it sound truer than we might initially be inclined to believe. Microsoft (like, to be fair, most outfits) is normally shifty about its margins, so a minion delegated to cook up a Linux scare story email would be unlikely to include reference to them. We can also therefore conclude that retailers do make more money out of selling Linux. ® Complete Register trial coverage